Graduate vets top jobs survey

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Teachers and doctors are among those most likely to find
work after graduating

Students graduating from veterinary science, teaching and
medicine are the most likely to find work in their chosen field, a
new graduate survey has found.

However, about half of the social science and economics
graduates participating in the survey were still searching for jobs
in their profession four months after graduating.

The survey, titled Graduate Destinations 2004, found that
almost 80 per cent of graduates had found full-time work in their
profession, showing a "stable level of demand" for new
graduates.

All veterinary graduates, 92.8 per cent of teaching graduates
and 90.5 per cent of dentists and doctors were in professional
employment, the survey found.

And the news was better for doctors and dentists, who topped the
graduate starting salaries. Starting dentists earned $60,000, up by
$5000 in 2004, and doctors $50,000.

Slightly more than 50 per cent of social science graduates
 which included those with visual and performing arts,
humanities and social work qualifications  were working as
professionals.

Almost a quarter of these students were in clerical, sales or
service jobs.

Business and economics graduates faired worse, with 49.9 per
cent of graduates employed in their fields.

The research, conducted by the Graduate Careers Council of
Australia, surveyed more than 100,000 local and international
students.

While the median graduate starting salary increased by $1000 to
$38,000, starting wages have significantly declined when compared
to average weekly earnings.

In 2004, they were 81.6 per cent of the average weekly earnings,
down from 85.8 per cent four years earlier.

Bruce Guthrie, a research manager at the Graduate Careers
Council, said the overall decline in graduates' starting salaries
was due to an increased number of new graduates in generalist
fields such as biological sciences and humanities.

"So you see graduates in a number of generalist fields taking
employment which is slightly lower paid in the short term," he
said.

Mr Guthrie said because of the increasing number of bachelor or
generalist degree graduates produced by universities, more students
were seeking to improve their job prospects with further study.

The survey found that almost a quarter of participants were
completing further full-time study after finishing their initial
course.

Men were more likely than women to undertake further study, the
survey found.

CAREERS AFTER COURSES

Graduates in professional employment within four months
of graduating: